How an International Education Will Impress a College Admissions Team
Authored By:
When you’re a student interested in first year abroad, that means you’re also a student who prioritizes education and wants to impress a college admissions team. And when you complete a first year abroad program, you’ll be doing both.
Let’s take a closer look at how an international education will impress a college admissions team and why you should really consider a first year abroad experience.
An Overview: First Year Abroad
By now, we know you already know this, but it doesn’t hurt to provide a brief overview of CIEE’s newest program, First Year Abroad.
First year abroad is essentially a freshman study abroad program. Instead of starting your freshman year on a U.S. college campus, you’ll hop on a flight to your first year abroad destination (heads up, there’s 7 incredible international locations to choose from).
While you’re there, during your semester or year abroad, you’ll be enrolled as a student at our academic home and school of record, Dean College, a well-respected liberal arts institution in Massachusetts, and earn college credits while exploring a new, international city. Does it get any cooler than that?
You have options once you complete your first year abroad program, including:
- Go on to earn your degree at Dean College
- Apply to a CIEE partner college or university to ease the transfer credit process
- Use your international experience to impress the admission team at your dream school of choice
Dean College enrolls CIEE First Year Abroad students because it’s an institution that appreciates international education and values students who want to become well-rounded global citizens. They know the challenging coursework you’ll take on and how important diving into other cultures and navigating an international city is.
After you return home from your program, you’ll be welcomed to the beautiful Dean College campus to continue to pursue your degree while enriching classroom conversation and broadening fellow student perspectives.
Dean College is a great choice, but perhaps you have your eye on another institution – one that also understands the power of an international education. Let’s take a look at how your first year abroad experience can truly impress the admissions team at a CIEE partner university or another school of your choice.
Why Colleges Care About First Year Abroad
Many great schools care about international education. It’s why so many of them partner with programs, like CIEE, to not only provide global opportunities to their students, but also to enrich their own institutions with more globally minded individuals who take on new perspectives and enjoy learning more about the world around them.
As the world becomes increasingly more globalized and interconnected, global citizens are at the forefront of advancements. It’s a win-win. And it’s why getting an incredibly immersive international education ahead of joining a school, like with CIEE First Year Abroad, is remarkable.
CIEE First Year Abroad College Partners
CIEE is pleased to partner with global-thinking colleges and universities across the country to empower students to study abroad and experience the world before continuing their academic studies on-campus. Our College Partners have agreed to align the courses you’ll end up taking abroad to their course catalog to help you have a smooth transfer process.
Like Dean College, CIEE’s College Partners are already impressed with students who prioritize becoming global citizens and look forward to welcoming them on their campuses.
Your Dream School
While you could continue pursuing your degree at Dean College or apply to a CIEE College Partner, you have one more option to consider when you return to the States after your first year abroad program: apply and transfer to any college or university of your choosing.
While courses offered during program are designed to fulfill general education or common core requirements at many U.S.-based schools, we also know that an admissions team will look at your international experience favorably. Why? Take a look at our thoughts below:
- Reason #1: Our first year abroad academic advising team will help you with academic foundations, like study habits and strategies, academic writing, research, and time management while you’re abroad. So, after program, you’ll be transferring to a school with a lot of important student-ready skills.
- Reason #2: The cultural excursions and international exploration you’ll do while abroad will help you develop other beneficial skills, like enhanced problem-solving, leadership, and intercultural communication. You’ll be a highly valued student no matter which school you decide to go to.
- Reason #3: Speaking of your global exploration, you’re going to meet lots of people from all over the world during first year abroad, and with it, you’re going to deepen your global perspective and learn more about other cultures, histories, and ways of life. You’ll be many steps closer to being a global citizen after program and take your newfound lessons with you throughout your college career.
First year abroad means becoming a global citizen and prioritizing international education, which opens many doors for your future college career.
Do what you love and kickstart your future with CIEE First Year Abroad!